Healthy Mushroom Enchiladas

September 29, 2015

Enchiladas are one of the least photogenic foods I’ve encountered. Without fail, my spatula is too narrow to transfer them in one piece to the plate, and my grand plans of perfectly rolled enchilada pictures with a little peek of filling sticking out are ruined. Just go search for “enchiladas” on Pinterest…you’ll see I’m not the only one having an issue.

But, they happen to be one of my favorites to eat and make, and I decided it’s high time that NCK needs a larger collection of enchilada recipes. I guess that means I’ll have plenty of chances to practice my enchilada photography!

For now, and I don’t think this is too much to ask, you’re going to have to trust me about the meaty (look at it, it looks like meat!) mushroom filling in these accidentally vegan mushroom enchiladas.My pictured sour cream isn’t vegan, but you could easily use this version that is, or just omit the dairy ingredients for perfectly amazing results.

In just over one month, guess where I’m going to be eating enchiladas? My wedding!!! That’s right, you KNOW I’m the girl who made a special menu request for a big ol’ plate of enchiladas on my wedding menu. On my visit to Minnesota last month, I got to taste test them, and for a venue that specializes in club sandwiches and baked chicken and little brie puff pastry bites, they were pretty dang good.

Along with meatless enchiladas, our wedding RSVP cards also feature mushroom risotto, walleye (the local seafood special), and the standard steak.

On Saturday, Steve and I got up bright and early (early relative to our recently out-of-whack sleep schedule) to go drop off said RSVP cards, and yes, the invitations with them, at the post office! I’m so relieved to have these things go out that I barely noticed the weird lady in sunglasses and two layers of gloves, sorting through her P.O. box mail and tearing the address labels on her discarded catalogs into a thousand tiny pieces before trashing them.

A big thanks goes to Sarah at A Milestone Paper Co. for our custom invitations. They could not have turned out any closer to what I envisioned, and the whole process, from hire to delivery, took maybe 10 days. I didn’t even know that was possible, especially a month ago when I was in tears about how I was ever going to plan a wedding by November. NCK was suffering: I had a backlog of recipes I wanted to share, but so little time to take pictures and write blog posts because I was researching how to phrase my offbeat invitations and what size to make my RSVP cards. Vomit. Conceptually, I understand that there are brides out there who enjoy wedding planning, but I can’t make sense of it. It’s literally spending countless hours developing acumen at something you’re never going to do again in your life. It’s the biggest inefficiency I’ve ever encountered.

In a fit of extreme frustration that day of tears, I trashed my wedding Pinterest board (here’s the new one) and all of my planning materials. Just threw them in the cyber or actual trash. Then we arrived at the decision that should have been made months ago, hiring our wedding planner. Would I say it’s been 110% smooth sailing since then? This is real life, and our budget is not unlimited, so no. But I’d easily put it at 98%. Paloma, our planner at Rosetree, possesses loads of knowledge on topics like paper vendors. To her, it’s her job and her passion, so its incredibly useful knowledge, but to me, it would just be a waste of space in my brain. That expertise has led us to companies like Sarah’s, that have rescued me from too-frequent meltdowns and given me the time I need to build the space that I really care about, NCK!

After a long day in the city with Steve for his first day back in the office post-injury, blowing off some emotional steam instead of talking about these mushroom enchiladas in depth is much needed. I’m sure you understand. Maybe it’s not a wedding, but fall is kind of back-to-everything season, with a million different things trying to take our time without us always realizing it. If it’s not a wedding, maybe it’s kids’ activities, social commitments, or, let’s not forget, work. The last month or so, I’ve really been trying to step back and see not what I can do better, but what I can step away from, and it’s so satisfying.

No, life isn’t so simple that I can just go off into seclusion for even a week (I wish), but I like to take little opportunities to pass up empty, unfulfilling, but in-your-face activities to spend an hour or so in the kitchen putting together a big wholesome pan of healthy mushroom enchiladas, rather than churning out progressively faster dinner recipes because it’s all the rage. There’s enjoyment to be had in taking life (and dinner) slow with the people you care about, and who care about you. In splurging a tad on a wedding planner or babysitter to save your own sanity and most important relationships. In, even though I least excel at this one, putting your feet up with that growing stack of magazines and leaving the laundry to, ummm, fester. And in heading off to happy hour on a Monday night, as I’m about to do, waiting 12 hours to wrap up and push publish on this mushroom enchilada recipe blog post.

Instead of giving the peppers time to percolate, rendering mushroom enchilada filling way too spicy, throwing in minced, raw serrano peppers at the end adds just the right amount of fresh, perfectly distributed heat to balance out earthy mushrooms.

By: Tessa

Dish Type: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 T vegetable oil

Olive or vegetable oil cooking spray (or another tablespoon of oil)

1 C finely chopped white onion (half of a large onion)

2 t chopped garlic (slightly larger pieces than minced)

½ t dried oregano

1½ lbs. mushrooms, chopped with a few pulses in the food processor, or finely chopped

Heat oil over medium high in a 3 quart skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes, until starting to soften, then add garlic and oregano and cook another 2 minutes. Add mushroom pieces, tomatoes, and ½ teaspoon salt, and simmer as the mushrooms cook, first giving off their liquid, then as it reduces almost completely, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Turn off heat and stir in fresh chiles, epazote, cilantro, and more salt if needed. Set aside while you soften the tortillas.

Heat oven to 300 and spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray. If you made the sauce in advance, allow to come to room temperature or briefly warm it so it's not cold from the refrigerator.

Place 6 tortillas on a baking sheet in a single layer, and spray or brush both sides thinly with oil. Bake 3½ minutes in upper third of oven, until warm and pliable. Fill this batch of tortillas by rolling ¼ packed cup of mushroom filling in each and placing seam side down in the pan (don't sauce the bottom of the pan). Repeat the baking/filling process with all the tortillas (you may only be able to fit 12 in your pan). Turn oven up to 375 degrees. Top the pan of enchiladas generously with sauce, then shake gently to allow it to work down into the cracks (I used all the sauce). Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Top enchiladas with sour cream, crumbled cheese, and cilantro, or serve those extras on the side.

Notes

As written, without optional toppings, recipe is gluten free and vegan.

Rich, deep tomato sauce that's delicious both as an alternative enchilada sauce or on pasta.

By: Tessa

Dish Type: Sauce

Makes: 3½ cups

Ingredients

2½ lbs. roma tomatoes (around 12)

½ large white onion

¾ t dried oregano

3 T olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Ground black pepper

Make It

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Halve tomatoes lengthwise (no need to core or seed) and slice onion thin, but not paper thin, or it will burn as it cooks. Place tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer, top with onions and oregano, and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake about 45 minutes, until skins are wrinkled, stirring everything once or twice during baking. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then run through the food processor in batches (don't fill above your processors max liquid line) until well blended. The sauce won't be completely smooth, but it shouldn't have any big chunks left. Season to taste and store in the refrigerator or freezer if not using immediately.

Note: This page contains affiliate links. It does NOT contain sponsored content. Affiliate links (to products I recommend, on Amazon) offset my ingredient and website maintenance costs, so I can keep bringing you healthy recipes like this one. Thanks!